Man, cop mauled by dogs

SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio Police Department officer and another man were seriously injured Tuesday morning after being mauled by a pack of dogs on the South Side.

Officer Matthew Belver responded to a call around 12:15 a.m. for barking dogs and what sounded like a man screaming in the 700 block of Cantrell Drive, police said.

When Belver arrived, he found a bloodied 39-year-old Abel Arias on the ground with four to six pit bulls mauling him.

Belver got out of his car to help and was immediately attacked by the animals, police said.

The dogs bit the officer’s arms, legs and face before he was able to pull his gun and fire nine shots, authorities said.

Belver killed two of the dogs and wounded a third.

Emergency medical crews took Arias to the San Antonio Military Medical Center in critical condition, police said. He also was bitten on his arms, legs and face, police said.

Police described Belver’s injuries as “more minor.” He was taken to the Baptist Medical Center for treatment.

Animal Care Services Field Operations Supervisor Audra Houghton said ACS has impounded five dogs believed to have been involved in the attack.

She said investigators have been able to identify multiple owners, and are working to determine whether charges will be filed.

“The law requires pet owners to be responsible for their animals,” Houghton said. “You are required to keep your animal confined to your property. When they attack and cause serious bodily injury or death, you can be charged a felony.”

For now, the animals have been quarantined to ensure that they do not exhibit any signs of rabies. The next step in the investigation will be to determine exactly what led to the attack.

“Then, there is a process by which if we determine that this person wasn’t trespassing or breaking into their home, we could seize the dogs,” Houghton said, adding that if the attack occurred without provocation, ACS would recommend euthanasia for public safety reasons.

Houghton said there are about 352,000 dogs in San Antonio, and only 0.8 percent of them ever bite or scratch someone.

“There is a difference between someone being bitten by a dog and a serious bodily injury case. So when someone is hospitalized, that is what takes it to this next level,” she said. “I’ve been here for eight years and I have never seen an attack of this magnitude.”

Mark Wilson is a staff writer for the weekly, bilingual publication Conexión. Before joining Conexión in 2013, Mark worked as a writer for the Southside Reporter, a weekly community news publication covering San Antonio's southern sector. Mark is a graduate of Texas State University, where he served as a news reporter and entertainment section editor of the award winning university publication "The University Star."